A coalition of organizations under the "Moral Mondays" banner is planning to protest legislation at the Georgia state legislature in Atlanta on Tuesday, in an attempt to broaden the reach of such protests beyond North Carolina, where the civil rights rallies began.
The coalition's press conference, scheduled to coincide with the legislature's second-to-last day in session, will focus on calling for the body to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The coalition aims to draw attention to what it calls "moral" legislation, such as strengthening voting rights, gun control, affordable housing, reproductive rights and public education.
"The Georgia state government’s right-wing agenda promotes corporate greed over people’s needs; denies healthcare to over 600,000 uninsured Georgians; has cut over $7.6 billion from public education in the past 10 years; accelerates income inequality by restricting workers’ rights and benefits; attacks women’s reproductive freedom; promotes bigotry towards the LGBT community; enables gun violence through 'Stand Your Ground' and 'Carry Anywhere' laws; and seeks to restrict our voting rights," the coalition explained in a press release sent last week.
The group says this is the ninth such protest that has been organized in conjunction with the NAACP this legislative session.
Twenty-three activists were arrested at a protest at the state capitol last week as they protested legislative resistance to repealing Georgia's "Stand Your Ground" law:
This week's rally, scheduled for 1 p.m. on Tuesday, will feature local religious, labor and community leaders, including the Rev. Raphael Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. was baptized and served as a pastor.
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